Maher Udda (born 1963) is a Palestinian

Palestine

Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....

 terrorist suspected of planning suicide bombings in Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

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Udda is a top Hamas

Hamas

Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...

 commander. On March 15, 2010 he was arrested by the Israel Defense Forces

Israel Defense Forces

The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...

 and Shin Bet in a joint operation which caught him by surprise. Hamas claimed that the Palestinian Authority was involved in helping Israel arrest Udda. He formed a Hamas cell in his home village of Ein Yabrud

Ein Yabrud

Ein Yabrud is a Palestinian town in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate in the central West Bank. It is located approximately 7 km northeast of the city of Ramallah and its elevation is 800 m. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics the town had a population of 3,000...

, northeast of Ramallah

Ramallah

Ramallah is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank located 10 kilometers north of Jerusalem, adjacent to al-Bireh. It currently serves as the de facto administrative capital of the Palestinian National Authority...

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Udda is suspected of planning the 2003 Café Hillel bombing

Café Hillel bombing

The Café Hillel bombing was a Palestinian suicide bombing carried out on September 9, 2003 in a coffee shop in the German Colony neighborhood in Jerusalem...

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